Centrifugal displacement apparatus



Oct. 23,1945. I c. I. PLACE I CENTRIFUGAL DISPLACEMENT APPARATUS M Filed Sept. 3, 1943 Sheets-Sheet 1 E \-)M.V L Y M W NL .R v5 0 V T Nu r IR A m, f r

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Oct. 23, 1945. PLACE 2,387,348

CENTRIFUGAL DISPLACEMENT APPARATUS Filed Sept. s, 1945 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 FIG. 3. /v 33 3 w 3/ 36 11 20 62 22 I z D I *J {5 23 L 35 17 f 64 5/ I )I z .52 I 5 INVjENTOR; CHARLES PLACE ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 23, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- f 2,387,348 V a CENTRIFUGAL DISPLACEMENT APPARATUS f Charles IQPlace, New,M il ford, Conni, assignor to The Torrington Manufacturing (30., Torrington,

Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application September 3, 1943, Serial No. 501,196

' n claims] (p1. 230414 This invention relates tocentrifugaldisplacement apparatus, and .more particularly to centrifugal air blowers, being especially adapted, but

,not exclusively applicable; to blowers of multipledischarge type. i

It has recently been known to provide a plurality of scroll housings witha single centrifugal blower wheel, so arranged in respect to the housings as to provide for discharge of separate sures.l An improved and commercially successful construction of this general type is described and claimed in application Serial No. 419,113 filed November 14, 1941, by Edmond Bryan Williams,

' airstreams, respectively at lower and higher presassignor to The Torring-ton Manufacturing Co. $11

Since the development of the Williams blower assembly withimultiple outlet provisions, there has arisen a need for aircraft blowers with multiple discharge provisions, embodying means for proportioning the total air delivery between the several outlets of the assembly. This resultcan be accomplished in several ways, as by shifting a partition element dividing a multiple housing, or

by shifting a centrifugal blower wheel within a housing which is of somewhat greater depth than the axial dimension of the wheel, but it is desirable, in fact necessary in some cases, to preserve at least a practical running seal between the ends of the wheel and the side members of the housing, irrespective of wheel adjustment therein.

Accordingly the present improvements havea's a general and major objective, theattainment of the purposes stated. 7

A further object of the invention is attained in an arrangement, embodying as necessary elements, only a centrifugal blower wheel, a housing thereabout, which may be a scroll housing, and an adjustable inlet ring within' the housing which blower assembly to diiferent installations, wherein the inlet air is derived, at least at times, under appreciable positive, yet variable, pressures; for example, in aircraft installations wherein, in different types ofairplanes, because of differences in design of air scoops or air rams, inlet pressures and volumes may vary greatly between possibilities noted in preto time inthe same installation.

different types of planes, or may vary from time The foregoing and numerous other objects will more clearly appear from the following deta led 5 description of asingle preferred embodiment, particularly when considered'in connection with the accompanying drawingsin which: Fig. 1 is'a side elevation of a centrifugalblower assembly embodying the present improvements;-

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view, taken as viewed toward the low-pressure, higher volume discharge end of the assembly;

, Fig. 3:15 a horizontal sectional elevation taken along staggered planes as indicated by line-3-3 of Fig. 1, and 1 l l Fig. 4 is a vertical'section, somewhat enlarged, as taken along line 44 of Fig. 1. v i

'Referring now by characters of reference to the drawings, and first to the housing construction, the casing broadly considered, comprises a side plate I ll, which may be considered as a front plate, an oppositeback plate ll, anda peripheral marginal closure member l2. It willusually but not necessarily be desired to extend themember l2 intoan outwardly flared or funnel-like discharge portion l3, which terminates in a hood or auxiliary casing structure generally indicated at l4 which, as will appear, 'constitutes a :form of discharge bell and may serve either forconnection into additional discharge duct sections (not shown), or may serve as a housing, complete or incomplete, for a heating unit or the like (not shown) Mounted within the portions l3 and I4 is a fixed, or if desired movable, directioning vane l5-which is'disposed in the example shown in a substantially vertical plane, and may be anchored fixedly or adjustably to the curved top element I E and the bottom'element I l of the structure As will best appear from Figs. 3 and 4; the:casing constitutes what is in effect a pair'of scroll housing structures 'in'lateral'adjacence, but as will appear, with their discharge ducts? angularly spaced about the axis of the'assembly- One of the scroll housings is also by preference'of lesser depth than the other and is'identified generally with a chamber structure 20, one side of which is formed by a closure element 2!, and the other side of which is formed by the back plate H of the housing proper; the shaping of the latter readily appearing from the dotted lines of Fig. 1. A scroll element which in part peripherally bounds the high pressure narrow scroll housing 20, is indicated at 22. As will later appear, the scroll housing 20 surrounds that portion of the centrifugal blower wheel which is most remote from the inlet, and thus, as indicated in the Williams application above designated, serves to receive air delivered at a somewhat higher pressure than that delivered by the portion of the wheel nearer the inlet.

The wider, lower-pressure scroll housing, the

chambered part of which is generally indicated;

at 23, is bounded, as will appear, by the foreplate I0, the closure 2| which serves in part as a partition between the two scroll housings, and the peripheral element |2 above referred to.

Referring now to the wheel structure, the rotor or wheel per se, is or may be of known construction, and is generally indicated at 30. In the form illustrated the wheel is comprised of an imperforate back plate 3!, provided with a shaft opening 32 for the reception of the power shaft 33 driven by a suitable motor or the like without distortion, warping, or other deforrnation even when subjected to the unusual gyroscopic and other stresses incident to usage in high speed aircraft.

Provision for shaft-mountingthe wheel 36 includes a hub member '36 provided with a flange 31, secured for example by rivets 40'to the back plate 3|. The body of the hub is provided with a tapped aperture for the reception of a setscrew 4|, and while the hub may be secured in any suitable manner to the shaft 33, to provide for axial adjustment of the wheel within the housing and along the shaft, a structurally simple provision for this purpose consists in an elongate slot or flat :42. It will now readily appear that by loosening setscrew 4| the wheel may be shifted as desired, to different lateral positions within the housing, hence in different delivery relation to the paired scroll housing structure identified with chambers 20 and 23. 5

.To provide for entrance of the shaft 33 into the casing, the housing back plate I l is apertured as at 43 to receive the shaft, and it is a preference that the diameter of the opening 43 be such as to provide not appreciably more than a good working clearance with the shaft. If desired, to further enhance the'running seal between the back plate end of the rotor and the back plate 'll of the housing, there may be provided an auxiliary plate 44 provided with a center opening which rather snugly receives the shaft 33, the plate 44 being secured as by welding, to the back plate3l ofthe wheel.

It will now have appeared that, as is conventional of itself, the wheel is provided with an inlet eye identified with the opening 45 at this end of the wheel. Similarly, the plate ll) of the casing which constitutes a side closure of the scroll housing chamber 23 is also provided with an inlet eye 45, the diameter of which approximates that of the eye 45.

livery to the other chamber, provision be made,

irrespective of such adjusted position, to perpetuate the running seal at both ends of the wheel. As to the backplate end of the wheel the plate 3| (imperforate except for the closed shaft opening) and the seal provided between plate 44 and adjacent elements, is such as to assure no appreciable "shunting of air from the periphery of the wheel back to its interior. At the other or inlet end of the wheel there is provided an adjustable ring bridging the space between the eye 45 and the plate It with only, a working clearance, so as to perpetuate a running seal in this zone. This ring member internally of the casing, and specifically internally of the scroll housing identified with chamber 23, is indicated at 50. In the example shown this ring constitutes an inward extension of a sleeve, thimble, or conduit section 5|, and is of substantially even diameter with the inlet eye 45. In assembly the members 50 and 5| may be taken, in the example shown, as structurally constituting parts of thehousing or casing, but at the same time functionally constitute a section or extension of an inlet duct not otherwiseshown, the continuing elements of which will usually be connected to this collar structure say through a flared adaptor portion 52 and a connecting flange 53.

Provision for quickly and easily effecting desired adjustments of the element 50-5| consists, in the structure shown, of a flange 54 parallel and secured to the foreplate ID of the casing as by rivets 55. Th flange 54 is extended outwardly at a right angle to form an annular, partly cylindrical flange 56 of a diameter just sufiicient to receive the member 5|. The annular flange 56 is preferably provided with a series of spaced slots 51, enabling as will appear, the flange 56 to be constricted upon or contracted about the collar 5|, provision for this clamping action being made by a clamp ring 58, having a pair of upstanding tabs or ears fifl'apertured to receive a screw or bolt 6|, this clamp per so being of conventional form apart from combinations.

It will now be obvious that, upon loosening the bolt 6|, or nut thereon, the contractile band 58 being resilient in nature, will Open sufiiciently to permit sliding movement of the collar 5|, hence of ring 50 in a direction axially of the wheel, so that the collar may be'projected various distances into the casing and low pressure scroll housing. It is suggested as usually advantageous first to adjust the member 50--5| just to contact the ring 34 of the wheel 30 afterthe latter is adjusted desirably, then to back off the collar 5|l5| to an extent just to provide the requisite working clearance.

The function and operation of the assembly are now thought to have become fully apparent from the description of parts, but it may be noted for completeness that air entering the inlet conduit, thence the end section thereof identified with elements 52, 5| and 55, will enter the wheel 30, whence-it is impelled by centrifugal action in well known manner, outwardly into the two scroll chambers 20 and 23. The higher pressure component of air delivered from the wheel will emanate from that zone nearest the back plate 3| and hence will be impelled outwardly of the wheel into the discharge portion of thehigh pressure scroll housing, the outlet or discharge conduit connection of which is generally indicated at 62. Itwill have appeared from the description of housing structure that the member 22, serving as a scroll element, terminates somewhat abruptly and in a region close to the periphery of the I in the elements [3, and i4 heretofore described.

As before noted, in case a specific installationmay require, for example, a lesser volume of air through the high pressure discharge 62,

and a greater volume of air through the lower pressure discharge |3l4, the wheel 3|] will be adjusted to bring it further to the left (Fig. 4) bybacking off setscrew M and axially shifting the wheel, thereafter tightening the screw 4|. Meanwhile the collar 50-5| will have been freed from clamped securement by loosening the bolt 6|, retracting the collar sufiiciently for wheel adjustment, thereafter setting the collar to the wheel in its adjusted position, then backing off the collar 50-,5| preferably only enough to providea working clearance and to maintain the described running seal in the inlet region of the wheel and housing.

It should be noted that the adjustable inlet provision, although of particular advantage in the multiple discharge assembly as described, is nevertheless useful as an improvement in single discharge blower assemblies wherein, say for purposes of axial expansion or otherwise, the housing is of somewhat greater width than the length of the wheel, and in other cases wherein it is desired to provide for adjustment of elements laterally of the wheel, the adjustable inlet provision is found advantageous. It should also be noted that while the single example selected for description discloses the combination including one or more scroll chambers about the wheel, the adjustable inlet provision is not necessarily restricted to use in this combination.

Although the invention has been described by making particular reference to a single selected embodiment of present improvements, the detail of description is to be understood in an instructive, and not in any limiting sense, many variants being possible within the scope of the claims appended.

I claim as my invention: 1. In a rotary fluid displacement device, a rotor, a housing about the rotor having an inlet opening adjacent the inlet area of the rotor, means dividing the housing to provide a multiple discharge therefrom, means for varying the operative relation of the rotor to the parts of the housing whereby to vary the proportion of fluid delivered to the various avenues of discharge, and adjustable means for maintaining a constant relation between housing inlet and rotor inlet, irrespective of variation of said proportioning means.

2. In a centrifugal fluid displacement device, a centrifugal rotor, a housing about the rotor having an inlet opening adjacent the inlet area of the rotor, means dividing portions of the housing to provide a, multiple discharge therefrom, means for varying the operative relation of the centrifugal wheel to the separate portions of the housing, whereby to proportion the fluid de livered to the various avenues of discharge, and an adjustable inlet element disposable in varibus positions internally of the housing for maintaining a constant relation between housing inlet and 'rotor inlet, irrespective of variation of said proportioning means.

3.1naicentrifuga1 blower assembly of multiple discharge type, a centrifugal rotor, a housing of somewhat greater axial depth than the rotor, and including separate discharge outlets having openings in different zones axially along the rotor, means enabling the rotor to be adjusted 'to various positions along its axis and depthwise' of the housing, the housing and the rotor being formed for maintaining a running seal .at each end of the rotor, irrespective of adjusted position of the rotor within the hous- 4. In a multiple discharge centrifugal blower assembly, a centrifugal blower wheel, ahousing about the wheel provided with axially spaced discharge conduits, the housing being of greater axial depth than the length of said wheel, and adjustable to various axial positions depthwise of the housing, the blower wheel being provided with sealing means at one of its ends, and sealing means at the opposite end of the wheel adjustable to maintain an operating seal between the last said end of the blower wheel, and the adjacent side of the housing, irrespective of the wheel adjustment therein.

5. In a centrifugal blower assembly of double discharge type, a double scroll housing, a single centrifugal wheel serving the double housing, means providing a running seal between the wheel and housing in each end region of the wheel, means for adjusting the axial relation of the wheel to the two scroll housings, whereby to eifect a variably proportionate delivery to the respective scroll housings, and one of said sealforming means including an element adjustable to and from the wheel to preserve the running seal at the adjacent end of the wheel irrespective of the axial relation of the wheel to the scroll housings.

6. In a centrifugal blower assembly of double discharge type, a double scroll housing, a single centrifugal wheel serving the double housing, means providing a running seal between the wheel and housing in each end region of the wheel, means for adjusting the axial relation of the wheel to the two scroll housings whereby to effect a variably proportionate delivery to the respective scroll housings, and one of said seal means including a tubular section forming part of an inlet conduit associated with the housing, said tubular section being adjustable toward and from the wheel.

7. In a centrifugal blower wheel assembly, a centrifugal blower wheel, a housing within which the wheel is operable and provided with an inlet eye, an annular flange external of the eye, an inlet conduit extending into the flange and into the eye and adjustable depthwise of the housing, and a contractile band disposed externally of the flange, and adapted to clamp the flange to the conduit.

8. In a multiple discharge blower assembly, a casing structure having a side inlet, a centrifugal blower wheel having a single end inlet, and operatively arranged in the casing structure, the casing structure including a relatively shallow high pressure scroll housing, and a relatively deeper lower pressure scroll housing located nearer the inlet zone of the casing, a partition at least partly separating the housings, a sealing member adjustably bridging the inlet end of the wheel and: the corresponding; end. of the casing,

both the wheel and said sealing member being adjustable in a direction axially of the wheel, and a sealing plate between the opposite end of the wheel and the adjacent end of the casing structure.

' wheel relative to the two scroll housings, whereby to effect a variably proportionate delivery of air to the respective scroll housings, an element adjustable to and from the wheel to maintain a running seal at one end. of the wheel, said element arranged to deliver air directly to the interior of the wheel irrespective of the varying axial wheel adjustment, and a sealing plate at theother end of the wheel, said plate and ele ment providing aseal between the wheel and the housing at'the opposite wheel ends.

10. In a centrifugal blower assembly of double discharge type,,a double scroll housing, a single centrifugal wheel serving the double housing, the wheel being characterized by a substantially full diameter inlet opening at one end, and a substantially imperforate back plate at its opposite end, means for adjusting the axial relation of the wheel to the two scroll housings, whereby to effect a variably proportionate delivery of air to the respective scroll housings, and. means providing. a running 'seal between the wheel and housing in each endregion of the wheel, said means includingz'near the inlet end of the wheel, a tubular 7 

